Katie Lane Chaverri

Katie Lane Chaverri is a seasoned financial institutions, restructuring, litigation and corporate attorney who focuses on representing banks and other lenders, creditors and debtors in commercial bankruptcies, and creditors’ rights.  Ms. Chaverri currently counsels clients in a wide variety of contexts, ranging from formal and informal negotiations, workouts and mediation, to intense litigation held in federal district, bankruptcy, state, administrative courts and tribunals.

Ms. Chaverri advises national and local banks and financial institutions as to Dodd-Frank Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Truth in Lending Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, SAFE Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, Fair Housing Act, USA Patriot Act, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and the rules administered by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and other regulatory and enforcement agencies.

When her clients encounter business problems, Ms. Chaverri draws upon twenty years of practice as a business lawyer to identify solutions that work best to reach their goals in the most productive fashion possible.  Raised as a bankruptcy lawyer representing business debtors and creditors in the Southern District of Florida, Ms. Chaverri has since expanded her bankruptcy work to a national practice and has appeared in bankruptcy courts in California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.

Ms. Chaverri presently serves a wide range of clients– from national and local banks and multinational companies to entrepreneurs, corporate officers and directors, nonprofit organizations and small start-ups.  Ms. Chaverri represents clients serving the banking, financial services, government contract supply and services, residential and commercial real estate management, construction and development, retail, supply chain and media industries.

Ms. Chaverri has:

  • Represented Hertz’s largest franchisee in the Hertz bankruptcy cases to achieve 100% payment of the franchisee’s prepetition claim and to acquire additional territories in a multi-million dollar acquisition transaction;
  • Achieved a remarkable victory for an individual targeted by the Securities and Exchange Commission in an enforcement action brought by the SEC in federal district court in Massachusetts;
  • Successfully negotiated with the Internal Revenue Service and multiple other creditors to permit a small, minority-owned government contractor to operate and grow notwithstanding a financial crisis that jeopardized the company’s existence;
  • Counseled the guarantor of millions of dollars in construction loans to confirm a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization;
  • Served as debtor’s counsel to a large, regional construction company during its Chapter 11 case, helping the company to achieve a successful sale of substantially all assets and make significant payments to the company’s key creditors;
  • Represented a national footwear retailer in connection with its successful restructuring, which allowed the retailer to shed its unprofitable locations and above-market leases, resolve pending class action matters, and make significant payments to all of its creditors; 
  • Counseled a homebuilder which had guaranteed millions of dollars in construction loans to confirm a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.  Successful confirmation required substantial in and out of court negotiations with multiple creditors; 
  • Represented multiple commercial landlords in the enforcement of their rights in various retail tenant bankruptcies, including ensuring that the debtor properly vacated the property, that the landlord was properly compensated for amounts due during the pendency of the bankruptcy, that the landlord was compensated for rejection and other damages, and that third party sources of payment were promptly and properly pursued;
  • Enforced a commercial landlord’s rights under a guaranty of a commercial lease where the guarantor alleged it had no exposure for the default of its sublessee.  After litigation in California state court, during court-ordered mediation, Ms. Chaverri obtained a very favorable settlement for the client; 
  • Represented numerous government contractors, including a multinational consulting firm, a security firm, and a radio technology provider seeking to acquire assets, including personnel, tangible goods, and government contracts, out of bankruptcy cases pending in Virginia, Delaware, and California, respectively.
  • Litigated all aspects of debtor-in-possession financing and the terms of a stalking horse bidder agreement for a company wishing to acquire a competitor out of a Chapter 11 pending in Northern California;
  • Represented a number of unsecured creditors’ committees in successfully advancing the rights and interests of the committees’ constituencies.  Representative cases include Contessa Premium Foods, Inc. (S.D. California); Building Materials Holding Corporation (D. Del.); Fortunoff Holdings (S.D.N.Y.); DHP Holdings (D. Del.); Everything But Water(D. Del.); Right Start and Babystyle ([C.D. Cal.); and Crew Creative ([C.D. Cal.]).

Honors and Recognitions

  • Recognized by SuperLawyers  as one of the top attorneys in the Washington, DC legal market from 2015-2022.
  • Recognized by SuperLawyers  in 2013-2014 as one of the “Rising Stars” in the Washington, DC legal market.
  • In December, 2011, the M&A Advisor recognized Ms. Chaverri for her contribution to her firm’s nomination as a finalist for the “Turnaround Deal of the Year Award” related to the acquisition of Contessa Premium Foods by Sun Capital Partners at the 10th Annual Awards in New York.
  •  In November, 2011, Arent Fox LLP awarded Ms. Chaverri with the Albert E. Arent Pro Bono Award for demonstrating “outstanding contributions to public service.”
  • In February, 2011, the M&A Advisor recognized Ms. Chaverri for her contribution to her firm receiving the award for the “Chapter 11 Reorganization of the Year” (Lower Middle Market) related to the successful restructuring of the Walking Company.
  •  In 2009, CAIR Coalition named Ms. Chaverri as its “Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year”.

Publications

  • “The Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act: A Change of Scenery for Large Corporate Debtors” Arent Fox Legal Alert; October 4, 2011.
  • “Why it Pays to Serve On a Creditors Committee” Arent Fox Legal Alert; February 8, 2011.
  • “Bankruptcy Practice After the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005,” Half Moon LLC (2005) Co-Author.
  • “Protectionism or Environmental Activism? The WTO as a Means of Reconciling the Conflict Between Global Free Trade and the Environment,” The University of Miami Inter-American Law Review, 32, 2 (2001).

Professional Background:

Prior to founding Tayman Lane Chaverri LLP in 2013, Ms. Chaverri spent several years as a member of the bankruptcy and financial restructuring group at Arent Fox LLP.  Prior to 2008, Ms. Chaverri was an associate at Dickstein Shapiro LLP where she met Mr. Tayman and was a member of that firm’s Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Department.  Ms. Chaverri began her career in the bankruptcy litigation group of a large law firm in Miami, Florida.  In addition to her core financial restructuring and banking law experience, Ms. Chaverri represents, in a pro bono capacity, individuals seeking political asylum in the United States and has appeared in proceedings before the Fourth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals, Board of Immigration Appeals, the United States Immigration Courts, and the Department of Homeland Security.  Ms. Chaverri has served as pro bono counsel for immigrants from such diverse cultures as China, Egypt, El Salvador, Honduras, Lebanon, Mexico, Senegal, and Yemen. 

Professional Activities:

Ms. Chaverri is a member of the bars of Florida, the District of Columbia and Maryland  She is admitted to practice before all Florida courts, the courts of the District of Columbia, all Maryland courts, the United States District and Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Columbia, the United States District and Bankruptcy Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, the United States District and Bankruptcy Courts for Maryland, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits. 

Ms. Chaverri is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Bankruptcy Bar Association for the Southern District of Florida. Ms. Chaverri is a member of the International Women in Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (“IWIRC”).

Education:  

Ms. Chaverri earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law (2002).  While at the University of Miami School of Law, Ms. Chaverri served as the Editor-in-chief of the University of Miami Inter-American Law Review.

Ms. Chaverri received her B.S.C, with honors, from the University of Miami (1999).